Spaces, a Dutch coworking company that has been expanding rapidly across the United States, will open its first Minnesota location in Minneapolis' North Loop on July 16.
When Spaces opens next week, it will occupy around 50,000 square feet in the The Washington, a building located in the heart of the North Loop. This is roughly the same size as WeWork's large three-floor space in the Capella Tower in downtown Minneapolis.
Spaces Area Manager Stephanie Nemchik declined to say how many members the Minneapolis location currently has signed up, but said that the number was "well ahead of where we expected." She added that Spaces plans to host an open house event for the community later this summer.
Spaces occupies the majority of the four-floor Washington, and features many standard coworking amenities like private offices, phone booths and open work space. The fourth floor is home to the main reception area, as well as four conference rooms, several meeting areas, a community kitchen and open workspace for up to 75 people. Spaces' top floor also has a large patio, which has additional workspaces and will be utilized for happy hour, yoga and other events. Spaces' second and third floors have a combined total of more than 60 private offices, which vary in size.
Spaces has an expansive international reach, with a dozen or more locations on each continent. The company currently has around 50 coworking spaces in the U.S., and plans to open approximately 100 more within the next year. Members will be able to visit any of these locations.
Spaces is the latest arrival in the Twin Cities coworking scene, which has grown substantially within the last year. New York-based coworking giant WeWork opened its first Twin Cities location in October 2017, and plans to open its second in Uptown later this year. Industrious, also from New York, opened its second Minneapolis location in the North Loop around the same time. Nemchik said that Spaces currently does not have plans for a second Minneapolis location, but is "looking to grow" in the area.
Although Spaces has international roots, the company hopes to develop partnerships with local tech and startup organizations. During Twin Cities Startup Week in October, Spaces will open its office to the community, hosting events and offering some free coworking time. Spaces also hopes to establish a Minneapolis chapter of 1 Million Cups, a networking organization for entrepreneurs.
